To book a conversation with Robyn please visit: https://www.fph.org.uk/belonging-in-public-health/#anchor-fb9ffbc3-004e-4460-970b-56f1c165b585
In this episode, Robyn (she/they) shares:
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Her career transition from clinical medicine in Jamaica to public health – she recalls seeing patients with preventable conditions presenting in crisis, leading her to ask deeper questions about health and its determinants. She also talks about leading the decentralisation of a rural HIV treatment site in Jamaica as one of her first public health jobs.
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The community initiatives she is passionate about – she co-founded Margin to Centre, an organisation helping health systems to better serve marginalised women and populations. She also serves as a director for Touch Grass, an outdoor community for queer women and trans people of color.
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Her perspectives on equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) – she considers EDI a vital component of public health and describes inclusion as a continuous process.
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Her advice to new practitioners and challenges to the field – she encourages new practitioners to seek out spaces that align with their core values; and challenges leaders to improve recruitment practices to foster true representation.
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How her identity has shaped her practice – as a queer, Black woman and post-colonial subject, she adopts a critical approach to the status quo.
Key moments
03:29: Journey into Public Health
16:20: What Equality, diversity and inclusion means to me
21:26: Creating space for different voices
24:50: Moving from doing for to doing with: community participation
29:00: Who gets to decide who belongs
34:14: Belonging starts with representation
38:36: Identity, values and challenging the status quo